Smooth Talkers

I totally get the idea general idea of Satan=bad and God=good, but this just makes you want to cheer for Satan (initially...for like five minutes...until we talked in class). He is literally in the worst place imaginable and he is making it better for himself. Granted that means taking advantage of the other devils who think they're part of a democracy. Then again I can't say I blame them because I  fell for it too, so I guess that's the point. He can convince anyone of anything. He talks his way into being in charge, out of hell, and through purgatory. That's pretty impressive.
He reminds me of this guy Hunter I went to high school with. This guy could convince teachers that he had everything figured out and knew everything. He would just make up some BS, wordy summary so that it sounded like he knew what he was talking about. I remember one time specifically he had asked me to tell him what happened in Brave New World and me being me assumed he was just confused about it. Then he told my description of it to the teacher and got the credit for it. I don't know that I cared so much as I was jealous that he was just BSed his way through class, yet I had to read the whole book.
Back on topic though, of course all the other devils fell for it. Who wouldn't? Satan convinces a daughter that he fogot about and damned to hell to open up the gates that God said not to open. That's pretty impressive. I'm ridiculously stubborn and I'm pretty sure if my father forgot about me he wouldn't really be able to convince me of anything other than that he's a horrible person. The more you leanr about his daughter the worse you feel for her. His poor daughter had an incestuous relationship with her father that produced death, then death raped her and now she's stuck having hell hounds. Fun Fact: I would not be forgiving the person who put me in that situation...ever. Once again though I have never faced Satan, he's probably not only convincing but intimidating. It not just Sin though, I feel bad for the other devils too. I feel like they just got tricked into this because Satan smooth talked them. Without him they would all still be up in heaven enjoying life, but because he's selfish he took all those other devils down with him. I would say that he's smart because he can convice all these devils that he's the good guy, but he tried to fight God and that's pretty stupid. That's probably not the smartest idea, if all the stories I've been hearing for the last nineteen years are true then He isn't the type of guy you want to piss off. So yeah, I cheered for Satan for a little bit. I think it was purely out of confusion.

Hell No

            We should just establish now that there is nothing worth making a deal with the devil. One because if you believe in the devil then you clearly believe in God and two because it has never turned out well for anyone. No good can come from a deal with the devil no matter how good it looks on the surface. Faustus clearly wasn’t thinking. He asked four twenty-four years and to get to know everything, but is that really worth eternity in hell. That’s literally asking to be tortured in hell for eternity. Eternity is forever and I’m just speaking for myself here, but forever isn’t a concept I can grasp. I can’t see that something could go on forever, it’s an amount of time no one can comprehend. There is no end to this eternity, it’s just endless, but hey twenty-four years and some knowledge seems like a fair trade.

            I’m just not quite sure there is anything worth eternal hell; actually I’m entirely sure there is nothing worth hell. On the religious side there is the view that if the devil exists God exists.  The same goes for heaven and hell. A correlation Faustus probably should have thought of, especially because they even feared God. That’s a give-away that he’s real and has some good influence going on. So personally if I stared into the eyes of Satan I probably wouldn’t be so quick to pass up eternity in heaven for a few good years here on earth. Faustus wants knowledge and life two things that would probably be easily attainable in heaven. While there is no clear picture of heaven I’m pretty sure it’s safe to assume it is nothing like the picture of hell Faustus is shown.

 

Then the other side says that the devil is bad and we shouldn’t do bad things. Whether you believe in God or not, it’s a general belief that people should be good. Many even believe that we are all born good and later corrupted by outside influences. Going along with these ideas we also learn our whole lives that those who do bad things never win. We are told that bad people get what they deserve. While this isn’t always true the idea is that bad people get caught and are forced to deal with the consequences. I don’t care how long ago this took place, I am sure baby Faustus’ parents told him to be a good person. I’m not saying Faustus is an entirely bad guy; he could have turned himself around. He just chooses to do so a little late. Twenty-four years later and countless horrible behaviors towards many people is probably past the point of return. He probably should have thought of repentance a little sooner. So while I don’t see him as an entirely horrible person, I do see him as stupid (I can’t find a better word). It doesn’t matter how bored you are with life or how much you want to know about the world or even that you want to make sure you live longer, there is nothing worth trading to spend eternity in hell.

Beowulf: Super Hero

We grow up our entire lives looking up to someone; whether that is a parent or a story character, we spend our childhoods striving to be like this person.  Most little kids have some form of this and in many cases it was a fictional character with extraordinary powers. Even as we get older people still ask who your "hero" is. For some people it's a literal super hero and for others it is someone they see as a super hero. Beowulf is the past equivalant to someone like superman. He is indestrucatble and capable of winning any battle. He is their hero who can survive through every thing, whether the problem is large or small. I think it’s important to have super heroes, I think they give an escape and in many cases a hope even when things seem bleak. Everyone needs to believe there is someone out there who can save them from the dangers of the world. In Beowulf he is that hope he shows them that it is never over, that the good side always prevails. 

A super hero is steriotypes as a protector, a role model, and an overall good person; especially when we are little we see them as perfect. We need them to help us believe that there is someone there trying to fight the evil and protect us from the bad things lurking out in the world. I think it's a way for people to believe in something and hope for improvment in the world.  The idea that someone can fly and have extreme strength and the ability to survive any attack is outlandish and adults know it's impossible, but it's useful especially to kids. Everybody has to face the inevitable that we aren’t indestructible, we can get hurt and things can go wrong and in many cases we don’t get some muscular man in tights that flies in and saves the day, but super heroes give us that escape. They make us believe that things like that can happen. They show us that even when all hope is lost things can get better; they show us that good wins in the end. 

Beowulf is this super hero for the Danes. While he doesn't come flying in wearing tights, he does come sailing in after twelve years of turmoil to save them from the awful monster that has been terrorizing them. He is their hope when they can’t come up with any other ways to stop the monster. All odds are stacked against him; the most ferocious warriors were slaughtered at the hands of this creature, and then comes a man who is willing to risk his life to end their problems. He has completed amazing feats of strength, even before battling Grendel, that no normal person could ever manage. Beowulf is capable of fighting off sea monsters after swimming for days, and fighting two ferocious monsters with just his bare hands. He is so powerful he rips off the arm of a Grendel, that no sword could cut. Beowulf is the Danes super hero because he can attempt and complete these insane tasks that all before had failed at. While these powers are different than modern super hero's powers they still represent the same idea of good beating evil in the end. Beowulf is a story of this man with amazing skills who has God on his side and this makes him capable of amazing  things. So in reality super heroes were just as important when Beowulf was first told as they are now, they are our hope for a better future where good always wins.